'A Modest Proposal': Let us promote life in all its beauty

How about a modest proposal?

For nearly 50 years, the United States has been ripped asunder by abortion.

Some have argued that the half-century of passionate advocacy by the pro-life movement on behalf of the unborn child is based on religious jihad – as though the defense of unborn human life rises and falls on theological indoctrination to the exclusion of the natural law and science.

Now that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue of abortion to the elected leaders of every state, the challenge before the 50-state, pro-life movement is to double down on its efforts to transform hearts and minds with arguments that appeal to common sense and lead to meaningful, post-birth policies.

Let’s start, as Catholics who defend life, by pushing legislators to pony up our taxpayer money for prenatal care, expanded adoption services, early-childhood care, early-childhood education and other meaningful, workplace benefits that either keep families intact or convince pregnant women that choosing abortion is unthinkable. Our churches have millions of ready-made volunteers to babysit and change diapers.

Ultimately, the battle to be joined has as its goal the winning of hearts and minds. The challenge, of course, is how to do it effectively, particularly among young people who will determine the course of society for the next 75 years.

Here’s my modest proposal, which has been rattling around in my brain for at least the last 30 years.

In this fast-twitch culture, young people swipe either left, right, up or down with their thumbs or index fingers to view the next 10-second video on their phones. (Any professor who ever needed to explain the concept of infinity can rely on the TikTok feed.)

If we need to capture the hearts and minds of children and teens to transform the culture so that abortion becomes unthinkable, we have to fight quick twitch with quick twitch.

Nearly every study by those who research abortion has shown that when pregnant women view a sonogram of the life they are carrying inside their womb – their baby’s eyes, mouth, fingers and toes – many of those who may have been abortion-minded choose life. 

The reason for that should be obvious: The unborn baby looks remarkably like a human being.

Now, imagine this. Every year – let’s start with all 22 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans – the entire student body assembles in the gym. A pregnant woman – maybe it’s Mrs. Smith, who teaches geometry – lies down on a table at midcourt while a sonographer conducts a live ultrasound.

Then imagine the sonogram being splashed on a large projection screen. If there’s no screen large enough, the ultrasound could be broadcast on the TV in each classroom. The point is the entire student body – not just one class or a few students walking through a mobile pregnancy help van or pregnancy clinic – would get a real-time image of a hidden life, a piece of scientific (read that: not religious) evidence that would be impossible for someone to refute as not being a real, breathing, developing, precious example of quick-twitch humanity.

Some schools have done some version of this, perhaps not on a scale as grand. It needs to be done at every school, for every student. Take that same technology to CYOs and Parish Schools of Religion across the archdiocese. The cost would be negligible. The impact would be priceless.

The unborn baby – Mrs. Smith’s baby – would have a name and a face. Geometry meets humanity.

With the precious treasure thus revealed in the womb, then take it many steps further.

Advocate for the expectant mother whose boyfriend has vanished.

Let students – especially the male students – understand that actions have consequences. Can you imagine the private conversations among the male students as they return to their classrooms?

Push for mothers getting the help they need after delivery. 

Demand lawmakers to expand childcare and educational opportunities, and use our taxes to do it. 

Galvanize churches into walking with pregnant women in crisis.

Talk about the entirety of Catholic social teaching.

Outlaw the death penalty.

Protect the elderly from the false premise of euthanasia (the elderly are made to feel as though they should "get out of the way" because they are a "burden" to their family).

Talk about what it means to be a force against racism and bullying.

We can start right now.

A modest proposal. There’s a culture waiting. So much that is hidden needs to come to light. 

[email protected]